Simpler Recycling

Simpler Recycling extends the duty of care for waste collection to include separate food waste collections to both businesses and organisations and local authorities.  From 01 April 2025, businesses and organisations which have more than 10 full time equivalent employees must arrange for the separate collection of their food waste, and from 01 April 2026, local authorities have a duty to collect food waste separately from all households on a weekly basis.

However, research by Dr Jane Midgley, Reader in Urban Social and Economic Practice in Newcastle University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, has found the lack of clarity from central Government has left councils unclear about their responsibilities under the new regulations and could leave them struggling to fulfil their obligations.

Recommendations

Dr Midgley has called for better resourcing, guidance and clarity from the Government.

In her report Food Waste Futures, she outlines the challenges facing local authorities. She found:

• There is not enough available data for councils to estimate how much commercial waste they may be responsible for
• Uncertainty if private sector waste collectors won’t offer a service to businesses and organisations whether they must be the collector of last resort
• Inadequate infrastructure - anaerobic digesters - to process the waste in some areas.
• Local authorities in rural areas face particular challenges due to the size of the area they are responsible for.

“The Government is beginning to turn its attention to its food waste recycling expectations but much more needs to be done,” says Dr Midgley. “Only last week the Government announced that it was allowing local authorities the flexibility to determine the best approach within their authority for residual waste collections from households to support Simpler Recycling and food waste recycling and clarified that enforcement activity for non-compliance by large businesses and organisations will start with immediate effect on 01 April 2025.  Based on my research these clarifications are welcome, however English local authorities still face significant uncertainties.

 “Taking expectations for larger businesses and organisations generated food waste, local authorities still do not know - with less than four months-  to go whether they are expected to be the provider of last resort if private/third party waste operators are not able to provide a separate food waste collection service, which is a challenge for any authority to implement and problematic for rural authorities.”

Her recommendations include:

• The Government should be clear about continued funding for operational costs and provide greater certainty regarding its expectations, and infrastructure capacity and planning.
• Support efforts for avoidable food waste prevention alongside food waste recycling.
• Identify a clear set of measures that help local authorities clearly chart what progress is being made on waste reduction and net-zero contributions that go beyond capturing food waste’s movement away from landfill.

Challenges

The new rules are part of the Government’s Waste and Resource Strategy for England which was announced in 2018. Its aim is to eliminate food and other biodegradable waste going to landfill by 2028 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on landfill. Under the strategy, it is preferred that food waste will be treated by anaerobic digesters which would produce energy and fertilizers from it.

Dr Midgley added: “Local authorities continue to face challenges implementing the Simpler Recycling for food waste. Food waste is expected to be collected and treated separately from other waste, to ensure recycling this is supposed to be treated through anaerobic digestion (AD) and not enter landfill or incineration.  Yet local authorities highlighted that they had no AD treatment capacity in their area and some had limited regional capacity.  Waste treatment infrastructure is something that needs to be considered urgently, especially as more local authorities will be collecting food waste from 2026 and beyond.”

Forty councils responded to an online survey created by Dr Midgley in July 2024. The research was funded by a Newcastle University Economic and Social Research Council Impact Accelerator Account.